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FAQ

What is ambient?

ambient (textambient.com) is a private society of founders who build each other. It's a private, text-native network where verified founders help each other solve problems and open doors. You state what you need, and a founder who can actually deliver it steps in, for example:

There's no app, no profile and no feed.

Who can join?

ambient is a network for verified founders. Investors, past founders, employees and students are judged case by case. Every member is checked before they're let in, and we will open the network to more people when it makes sense to do so.

How do I join?

> access on textambient.com, or open a member's invite link. Then text ambient your code, sign in with LinkedIn, and share two things: the problem you need solved, and one skill you can deliver in under an hour. We verify you're a founder, usually within 24 hours.

Is it free?

Yes. ambient is free: no fees, no subscriptions.

Is there an app?

No. ambient lives in your messages: iMessage, or SMS on phones without it. A few private web pages are used for sharing and delivering the work.

How do I get help?

From the day you join, you tell ambient what you're stuck on: the investor you can't reach, the customer who won't reply, or the deck that needs a second pair of eyes. Once you've helped another founder, or invited a founder who gets verified, ambient looks for the founder who knows that person or has solved that problem. They have seven days to deliver. Your name stays private, and nothing you send is ever posted without your OK.

What is an Op?

An Op is a request for help from another founder in the network. Today it can be up to 60 minutes of written work on your own material, like a deck, a model or a document, or a warm email introduction from a member who knows the person. ambient will add new ways for founders to work together over time, such as talking to each other directly through ambient. Every Op has a deadline, and the founder who takes it has to deliver on time.

What is lev?

Your reputation in ambient. Everyone starts at 0. You earn 1 lev when a founder you helped rates your work 4 or 5, or when a founder you invited is verified. An Op uses 1 lev, which goes to the founder who helped you. lev isn't money. You can't buy it, sell it or transfer it.

Can I invite other founders?

Yes. Once you're verified, you get your own invite link. You earn 1 lev when someone you invited is verified within 30 days.

Who sees my name?

No other member, unless you both choose to. Members see each other only as a Node number and one line, for example "Node 562, a seed-stage B2B fintech founder". After a 4 or 5 rating, you're both asked whether to swap names and numbers; if either says no, nothing is shared. Your material never goes to a founder who works at your company, used to work there, or competes with you, as far as we know. ambient's small team can see your details to check you're a founder. If you want people to know you're a member, you can add "[a]" to your LinkedIn headline, with your Node number if you like, for example "[a] Node 562". On LinkedIn, open your profile, tap the edit button next to your name and change your headline. You can also add ambient under "Licenses & certifications": call it "Verified founder", put ambient as the issuing organization and your Node number as the credential ID.

What happens if I miss a deadline?

You're out, permanently. The same goes for work that doesn't deliver what was agreed, and for rating good work 1 or 2 to cheat the founder who helped you.

Can investors join?

Case by case. Investors who are let in join under the same rules as everyone else.

Isn't this just more small talk?

No. There's no feed to scroll and no calls to sit through. You ask for one thing you need, like a teardown of your pricing page or an intro to a buyer, and a founder who can do it delivers it in writing or by email, on a deadline.

Is this full of people trying to sell me something?

No. Selling to other members isn't allowed, and nothing in ambient is sponsored. You can't use a request to sell, or to ask for likes, follows, calls or interviews. There's no member list to pitch, and members see each other only as a Node number and one line.

What stops people from only taking?

The way it works. Before ambient looks for someone to help you, you help another founder or invite a founder who gets verified. Each time you get help, it costs 1 lev, and that lev goes to the founder who helped you. You can't buy lev, so the only way to get more help is to help more.

I paid for a founder group and got nothing. Why is this different?

ambient is free, and nothing inside it is for sale. You ask for one specific thing: a warm email intro, or up to an hour of written work on your own material. ambient can't promise it will find someone. But once a founder says yes, they have to deliver what was agreed, on time, or they're out of ambient for good.

Isn't it a clique for people who already know each other?

No. You don't need to know anyone to get in. A member can invite you, or you can text ambient and get verified as a founder. Inside, nobody sees your name or your school, only a Node number and one line. Everyone starts at 0 lev, and nobody can pay to be asked first.

People promise intros that never happen. What's different here?

Here, the founder who agrees to make your intro has 7 days to email the person, from their own address, with ambient on CC. Miss that deadline and they're out of ambient for good. The person you want to meet still decides whether to say yes.

I barely have time. How much does this take?

Very little. There's no feed to keep up with and no calls to join. When you sign up, you name one skill you can deliver in writing in under an hour. Many of your texts arrive together in one evening digest, and you can text STOP to leave at any time.

Is this another AI tool that spams people with bad intros?

No. AI helps sort out which founders' skills fit what you need, but a person makes every intro. It's an email from a founder who knows the person you want to meet, sent from their own address, and it goes ahead only if that person says yes.

Will I end up with wannabe founders?

Every member is checked before they get in. We check that you're a founder, not that you're a good one. That part you prove by delivering: miss a deadline, or hand in work that isn't what was agreed, and you're out of ambient for good.

In most groups, I post a question and nobody answers. Will that happen here?

You don't post anything publicly, so nobody scrolls past you. ambient brings your request straight to founders whose skills fit, and when one says yes, they get to work. It can't promise a match, or when. The more specific you are, the better: one role at one kind of company, or one document and one question about it.

My founder friends are too nice to tell me what's wrong. Will this be different?

The founder who reviews your work doesn't know who you are, so there's no friendship to protect. They see a Node number and one line, not your name. You take names, company names and logos out before you upload, and ambient checks every file. You only learn each other's names after a 4 or 5 rating, if you both say yes.

See our Privacy Policy and Terms of Service. For longer answers to the questions founders ask each other, read traction.